Carl Albert

Carl Burt Albert was the 46th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and holds the esteemed title of having held the highest political office of any Oklahoman in American history.

Albert's family came from modest means. His father was a farmer and coal miner in McAlester. While in school Albert excelled academically — he was valedictorian, president of the Student Council, and winner of the Midwest Oratorical Contest. He attended the University of Oklahoma (OU) in 1927, earning a bachelor's degree in government and graduated with high honors. He was active in the Kappa Alpha fraternity and the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Albert then studied law at the esteemed Oxford University in England.

He returned to Oklahoma in 1934 and began his first civil servant position as a legal clerk for the Federal Housing Administration. Albert was drafted into the United States Army where he proudly served from 1941 to 1946. He earned an officer's commission and worked as a lawyer in the Army Air Corps. In 1946 Albert began his long political career after narrowly winning the Democratic primary in Oklahoma's Third District by only 330 votes. In 1961 Albert was elected House Majority Leader, a position he would hold until his appointment as the Speaker of the House from 1971 until 1977. Despite his small stature, the "Little Giant from Little Dixie" left a legacy of public service, including Carl Albert State College and the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center at OU.